The present invention relates to construction equipment, such as crawler cranes, which must be disassembled into a number of components to be transported between job sites. In particular, the present invention relates to a drive assembly for powering the crawlers of a crawler crane. The present invention also relates to a process for disassembling the crawler drive assembly to permit the disconnection and removal of the crawlers from the crane.
Construction equipment, such as cranes or excavators, often must be moved from one job site to another. Moving a crane or an excavator can be a formidable task when the machine is large and heavy. For example, highway limits on vehicle-axle loads must be observed and overhead obstacles can dictate long, inconvenient routings to the job site.
One solution to improving the mobility of large construction machines, such as cranes, is to disassemble them into smaller, more easily handled components. The separate components can then be transported to the new job site where they are reassembled.
The typical practice has been to disconnect, remove, and transport the crawlers separately from the crane. In conventional cranes, the crawlers are typically powered by a hydraulic motor mounted directly on each crawler. Each hydraulic motor is connected to a hydraulic pump located on either the lower or upper works of the crane by as many as four hydraulic hoses, several of which are under very high pressure. Removal of the crawlers therefore requires the disconnection of these hydraulic hoses. As a result, specialized arid expensive removable connections have to be installed in each of the hydraulic hoses. In addition, reconnection of the hydraulic hoses at the next job site often results in the infiltration of dirt and other contaminants into the hydraulic fluid system, resulting in a breakdown of the equipment.
It is therefore desirable to provide an apparatus for powering the crawlers which may be disassembled without removing or disconnecting the hydraulic drive motors from the hydraulic pump.